The Monticello Buckaroo wrestling team brought home their second championship trophy of the year last weekend. The Bucks attended the Warrior Classic in Grand Junction, CO, a tournament featuring 41 schools.

The Buckaroos won the small school championship and impressively finished fourth overall among a field of many top Colorado schools.

Grand Junction, Pueblo East and Central High Schools were the top three. The Buckaroos finished only nine points out of third.

Shandon Bradford was the top finisher for the Buckaroos this weekend, falling just short of the top spot and bringing home a strong finish and second place medal. Bradford won by fall in each of his first two matches before facing Colton Hall, son of former Buckaroo Matt Hall, in the quarterfinals.

Bradford earned the 13-3 win to move on. In a tough semi-final match, Bradford kept the fans on the edge of their seat and won a nail bitter, 4-3.

In the finals, Bradford fought hard but couldn’t overcome Dylan Martinez of Grand Junction and fell 6-2 at the final whistle.

Brayson Wilcox brought home a third place medal for the Buckaroos. After wins by fall in both early rounds, Wilcox lost a tough match in the quarterfinals.

He came back strong, earning three big wins to stay alive in the tournament and earn a spot in the medal round. Wilcox battled with Ronald Salazar of Pine Creek, putting Salazar on his back and tying up the score as regulation time ran out.

In the sudden death overtime period, Wilcox wasted no time, earning the quick take down and the exciting win.

Zach Musselman earned a fourth place medal on the weekend. Musselman won three early matches with two falls and a major decision before a tough 12-8 loss sent him to the consolation bracket, where he earned a hard fought 8-5 win to advance to the medal round. In his final match, he lost a heartbreaker, 4-2, to Riley Garner-Orr of Central High.

Parker Knudsen was the final placer for the Buckaroos, earning a fourth place medal. Knudsen won by fall in the first period of all three early round matches, but a loss in the semi’s sent him to the consolation bracket where he earned another win by fall to secure his spot in the medal round. In the third place match, he was defeated by Andy Garcia of Pueblo East.

Also earning points and wins for the Buckaroos at the tournament are Matt Beh with three wins, including an exciting sudden victory win; Thomas Anderson, Gage Wilcox and Zach Cecil each with two wins; Steven Robinson, Mark Beh, Spencer Squires and Paul DeAnda each with a win.

Earlier in the week, the Buckaroos took on the 6A New Mexico powerhouse Piedra Vista. The Buckaroos fought hard in the tough dual, coming up just six points short in the 36-42 loss.

Brayson Wilcox started things off with an exciting win by fall for the Buckaroos to give the team and early lead.

Tacovi Warren and Thomas Anderson both fought hard but lost by fall in the second period of their matches. Gage Wilcox put the Buckaroos back in the win column, coming in strong and winning by fall in just the first minute of the match.

Seamis Barrell, Parker Knudsen and Matt Beh all wrestled hard for the Buckaroos but were defeated by fall.

Mark Beh earned another win for the Buckaroos with a second period fall. Zach Cecil kept moving and scored points against his opponent in a tough match, but lost 11-4.

Zac Musselman faced a tough opponent in PV’s Wes Rayburn and despite his efforts, lost in an 8-2 decision.

Kayden Draper earned a win by fall in an exhibition match, and Shandon Bradford earned the final win of the night for the Buckaroos, getting early control and winning by fall in the second period.

The Buckaroos are off for the holiday and will be back in action on January 7 when they travel to the Pagosa Springs tournament.

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